Mouthpiece for wind musical instruments



M. H. AND J. BABBITT.

MOUTHPIECE FOR WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION 111.20 DEC. 11,,1919.

1,385,239. Patented July 19, 1921.

' Ira/gators. Witnesshm 5 73M awa H..BABB I'J.T AND .mssn BABBIT'IK, or ELKHART, INDIANA,

T0 allwhom z'tmay concern: 1 V

Be it known that we, MARVIN H. BABBITT andJEssE BABBITT, citizens of the United States, residing in the city of Elkhart, county of Elkhart, Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mouthpieces for Wind Musical Instruments,

of'which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mouthpieces for wind musical instruments, and especially to mouthpieces for saxophones.

It is well known to those experienced in the particular art that almost all saxophone mouthpieces are made of hard rubber and Specification of Letters Patent.

that the moldin process is used in the constructionthereof, which process requires the use-of a removable core in the'mold, metal or otherwise, to form the bore of the mouth piece, said core being usually: withdrawn from the mold before'the rubber has hard ened and while still somewhat elastic. This process of molding saxophone mouthpieces in one piece is necessarily limited to the use of rubber, for, rubber being elastic, the body of the mouthpieceis' not materially distorted when the mold core is withdrawn. In any event, the distortion due to the withdrawal of the'core is onl temporary due to the elasticity of the ru her body of the mouthpiece. As amaterial for the construction of mouthpieces for musical instruments rubber has its good'and bad qualities and is not acceptable to all persons, many of whom accept it because there is nothing better offered.

The object of our invention is the production of a saxophone mouth piece which may be molded from any fusible'material which is or may be inelastic while in a semimolten state and after hardening. There are certain special fusible compositions of matter,

which resemble hard rubber in appearance, used in the various arts as acceptable substitutesfor hard rubber which are desirable material for the construction of saxophone mouthpieces, but the inelastic quality of such materials renders the use thereof for that aoummcs Fon Winn MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Patented J uly'19, 1921.

* Application al a December 11, 1919. Serial No. 344,196.

ture, whereby the mold core can be readily w thdrawnwlthout distortion of the mouthp ece body. And while our invention'mav be used in the manufacture of hard rubber mouthpieces it is not primarily intended for that purpose, although we do not limit the invention to inelastic special compositions used for the manufacture of mouthpieces.

Other objects of our invention are mentioned and described herein.

The preferred embodiment of our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawingfin whicheFigure f1. is an exterior side view of a saxophone mouthpiece made according to our invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken longitudinally of the member shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view of the mouthpiece bushing partially. in section; and Fig. 4 is a view showing a modification.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views on the drawing. I I I Referring to the drawing in detail the numeral 1 indicates the usual hollow or tubular body member of a mouthpiece forasaxophone which may be made of any suitable material and which is provided with the usual lateral air orifice 2 formed inthe lay or face 3, the

sage 4 to enable the ready Withdrawal of a mold core therethrough.

f Numeral 9 indicates a tubular bushing member arranged within the bore 5 and substantially coextensive in: length therewith and fittin said bore with the minimum amount 0 play, the diameter of the bore of which bushing may be substantially less than the diameter of the channel or passage 4. The bushing 9 may be flanged at one end thereof which flange may be provided with the annular sloping retaining ring seat 10 which seat is adapted to cooperate with the annular retaining ring seat 11 formed on the end of the body member 1, the slope of the latter seat being opposed to that of the seat 10 and forming in cross-section a ridge shaped structure which is split at its highest point. The numeral 12 indicates an annular ductile metal band or ring ar- 'anged around said ridge, in encompassment thereof, and having its edges bent over upon the opposed sloping faces or seats and 11 for rigidly retaining the bushing 9 within the bore 5 of the mouthpiece body.

The numerals 13, 13 indicate a plurality of annular grooves or furrows formed in the exterior surface of the bushing body which we preferably coat with shellac, or like substance, before inserting the bushing in the bore 5, which grooves serve to carry the shellac into said bore for distribution thereof where it hardens and forms a seal against the passage of air around the exterior of the bushing body. The inner end of the bore of the bushing 9 may be some what tapered or belled at 1 1 to conform with the contour of the passage 4 of the mouthpiece body. In the modification shown in Fig. f we effect a screw thread connection 15 between the bushing 9 and the bore 5 of the body of the mouthpiece for more securely fastening the interior engagement of said members.

lVe claim:

1. A mouthpiece for wind musical instruments of the class described comprising a tubular body provided with a lateral orifice adjacent one end thereof and a bore at the opposite end thereof; and a separate tubular bushing arranged within said body bore, the

forward end of said bushing terminating between the inner end of said lateral orifice and the outer end of said body bore.

2. A mouthpiece for wind musical instruments of the class described comprising a tubular body provided with a lateral orifice adjacent one end thereof and a bore at the opposite end thereof; a separate tubular bushing arranged within said body bore;

and means for fastening said bushing within said body bore.

3. A mouthpiece for wind musical instruments of the class described comprising a tubular body provided with a lateral orifice adjacent one end thereof and a bore at the opposite end thereof; a separate tubular bushing arranged within said body bore; and a fastener element engaging both bushing and body for preventing displacement of said bushing from said bore.

4:. A mouthpiece for wind musical instruments of the class described comprising a tubular body provided with a lateral orifice and a bore at the opposite end thereof; a separate tubular bushing arranged within said body bore; and an annular fastener band engaging both said body and bushing to retain said bushing within said bore.

ii mouthpiece for wind musical instruments of the class described comprising a tubular body provided with a lateral orifice and a bore at the opposite end thereof; a separate tubular bushing arranged within said body bore; and a complementary spiral connection between said bushing and said body bore.

6. A mouthpiece for wind musical instruments of the class described comprising a tubular body provided with a lateral orifice and a bore at the opposite end thereof; a separate tubular bushing arranged within said body bore; and a sealing element be tween the exterior of said bushing and said body bore to prevent air leakage.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto aflixed our signatures this 6th day of December, 1919.

MARVIN n. BABBITIY JESSE BABBITT. 

